till its dead or the rod snaps what ever comes first.

---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:02 PM ----------

alan how do you get your wee flies on to your wire mate

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" TRUE CHAMPION'S DO NOT GET JUDGED ON HOW THEY FALL......... BUT HOW THEY RISE".

i use a sage xp 10 wt and xi2 9wt and still think sometimes there not enough i.e weedbeeds, fish going under the boat and what ever else.....but for people to talk about 4wt that is nonesense and only gives other people the wrong ideas ........ respect the fish mate and the fish will be there to catch tomorrow.

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" TRUE CHAMPION'S DO NOT GET JUDGED ON HOW THEY FALL......... BUT HOW THEY RISE".

When fishing the drain in Somerset I use an 8wt but I always carry a 9 just in case, same as when I fish bigger lakes like chew I use a 9wt, but if the big fish show I will use my xp 10wt. I would never think of going below a 8wt for pike..

I think there is a tendency in this country to go down the "big rod = big fly = big fish" route. We've been doing it in out trout fishing for more than 30 years and I don't suppose pike on the fly will be any different. I wonder why it is that one of the best livebaits for pike is a gudgeon, which for the uninitiated is a little brownish, bottom-dwelling fish that seldom exceeds 4" in length. This humble little fish has an enviable record for catching very large pike. Does anyone really think that you can't chuck a 4" lure on a 7 weight?

Just for the record, my biggest pike was 18lbs from Chew. No monster for sure, but then I am not a pike angler and I was fishing for trout using a 10' 5 weight from a boat. The fish was hooked fairly inside the mouth on a size 10 buzzer and I had it in the boat in under 5 minutes. I certainly didn't need a 10weight to catch that!

If I were going out deliberately to try to catch pike on the fly rod I would use the same rod I used for Steelhead in BC. A 9'6" 7/8. That coped admirably with a 31" steelhead in BC as well as numerous pinks up to 7lbs so I don't think I would need to worry about Mrs Esox.

I've managed to "fluke" a pike on both of my last two fishing trips(my only sessions this year so far).
The tackle used to tame these monsters (3lb jacks) was my trusty one weight Sage rod. I was after silver fish both times but any fish at this time of year is welcome.
Not that I'd advocate targetting pike on such a rod but there is far more to pike fishing than just specci hunting. Small rivers and canals can easily be fished with 5/6/7 wt rods, the flies are usually under 4 inch and a 10lb pike a once a year monster, 5 lbers being good sized fish...it's still good sport though.
If your water has lots of small fish a really powerful rod will harm the fish more than it saves them.
I've seen plenty of jacks with gill rakers snapped or bleeding just from the strike of a too beefy rod. Did these sulk off and later die?
Match the rod to what you expect to catch....my local canal hasn't thrown up a 5lb + pike for seasons (all been eaten by "you know who"). I'd happily fish it with a 4 weight, I wouldn't do the same out at a venue with possible(not mirraculous!) biggies though, I have 8/9/10 wts and the brains to know when to use them.
Don't blindly follow just because a group of specci boys tell you you must use a 10wt.
Dee

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It's not flyfishing if you're throwing bait in....learn to do it properly

The main point when flyfishing for pike is what you are going to chuck at them, if it is small fly's the rod rating does not have to be high, but if you are casting big, heavy bulky fly's then a rod rating of 9# or 10# does the job.

Modern rod's can take and give a lot of stick these days. If you want to exert pressure you dip your rod tip towards the water, as to how much pressure depends on what the weakest part of your leader setup is.

Basically i use 2 rods 9# and a 10# which covers all my needs and fly's that i will use. I have recently (last year) got them because i was wanting to up the fly size i was using which makes casting them a lot easier, not because it play's the fish harder and quicker.

There isn't a right or wrong, it depends on your type and style of fishing and where. It is a learning experience, sometimes we get it right and if we get it wrong we adapt and change it to suit our style. If it is right for me great, if it is right for the next guy but he does it different from me great also. We are individualls not robots

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A wise man can learn from a fool but a fool can't learn from a wise man.